Mario Aguilar

These days, camera talk is all Canon-Nikon-Sony, but during the Cold War Zenit and Praktica ruled the lightwaves in Russia and East Germany respectively. These repurposed vintage models pay homage to that history while brightening up a dark corner in your living room.

The one-off lamp conversions of these old 35mm DSLRs by Tinker & Tailor have been outfitted with a 50-Watt halogen bulbs and an inline dimmer on the power cable. You can also get a vintage tripod stand to prop up your new lamp. But, what? $500 plus? If we lived under socialism they'd be free! [Not On The High Street via Retro To Go via Imaging Resource]